Such a machining process of an already toothed workpiece can be for instance a chamfering operation of the tooth edges of the workpiece with a rotating cutting tool, as for instance disclosed in DE 10 2011 110 911 A1.
Before the chamfering operation may start, one has, however, to ensure that the starting condition for synchronized matching engagement of the chamfering tool with the workpiece toothing is achieved. That is, the workpiece rotary position has to be known when starting the tool engagement (while the ratio of rotation between the axes is already known from the gear and tool data).
In order to get this starting information, often centering sensors are used, for instance non-contacting sensors such as for instance described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,565,418 in the context of grinding.
The object underlying the present invention is to provide an improved preparation method, in particular with respect to reliability and simplified setup options.